Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 * Tuesday, July 27, 2004
HOME ON THE RANCH
With help of the community, Bryan ranch gives youths a hopeful home
By Lydia Adams
THE BATTALION
lo’sff , \n old proverb says it takes a village to raise a child. For
5 ouths at Still Creek Ranch, a children’s home in the Brazos
fa ley, the village includes a few loving adults and the entire
deb on munity of Bryan-College Station.
_|3|.Btill Creek Ranch is a place where children from troubled
.'jjBBdisadvantaged backgrounds are accepted into a Christian
atrily with “house parents” who raise them like their own
:hlldren. The kids do chores, attend an accredited school and
Airk with animals, said the Still Creek Ranch principal Dr.
}(Ne Sanders.
a r g a r e
e San
Media,
s on nei
the ones here every morning and put the kids to bed at night,
but if it weren’t for the people in the community, loving and
helping us, we wouldn't be able to do it.”
O’Quinn said that everything at Still Creek Ranch has been
donated, from computers, cars and vans to air conditioners and
groceries. She said the community is essential for the function
ing of the facility and all donations are
tax deductible.
“I want the community to understand
how much we appreciate them. It’s a gift
from God to see so many people giving
because they know it’s the right thing to
do,” O’Quinn said.
Dl)uinn and
ts , com , , ..
, t u m ,band, Danny
|SflH)uinn, direc-
Duuinn,
tob of Still Creek
are a
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her
lie city .
tin./, M^lh are a vital
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|e heating their
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be ng of children
,,in teed of love and
|r in a econd chance.
in8fml When lhe
^^^Quinns came
Still Creek
nationi
snd ei
to
^Bnch from the
fnf.Lily’s Country of
^^Huston, a home
s j~ foi disadvantaged
Grand;iy s ’ in l988 ’ the
p«ich was strug
gling and the
0 Quinns took on
the roles of admin-
n ll-yi
as
Jrators, house parents, cooks
of all other
boy u
nd
ht at i j
f of m
m, le;i' : 1
and took care
■erations.
|“It was hard, we had to
st rt from scratch,” Margaret
■Quinn said. "We knew we’d
bgen prepared for something
pd equipped us to do.”
I The children’s smiles and
h^igskept the O’Quinns going
Mid helped them turn the pro
gram into not only a flour
ing place for children to
I ve, but also a place for them
)U typ |f .J learn a vocation, prepare
[0* college and participate in
hialthy family relationships,
Hf Margaret O'Quinn said. She
0 f r said they are able to have a
nirmal childhood that they
wouldn't have had otherwise.
wa S J “We just love the kids. We
atcliir ^ lc l nothing when we came
es ; here, and it’s amazing how
avean:: much we’ve been able to
aicomplish with the help of
e Lord and the community,”
5ted ; f|O’Quinn said.
After 16 years of love and
s rvice at Still Creek Ranch,
t e O’Quinns are still giving
young boys and girls a home,
family and a childhood to
death
ii
Photos By BRIAN WILLS • THE BATTALION
Clockwise, from top left: Chef Mike Chernyak demonstrates how to season fish
filets for 11-year-old Paula Rodriguez. Rodriguez and other Still Creek students
are making a meal to celebrate the students' graduation from a six-week cooking
course. After saddling the horse, Jacob Pena, 13, rides through the stables at Still
Creek Ranch. Abigail Rodriguez (left in photo), 15, and Blaire Fields, 13, add mint
leaves to a dessert that was awarded to the raffle winner from that night's celebratory
dinner. Ten-year-old first-degree black belt Justin Marshall practices his weapon
routine with Justin Hopper, 13, who is training for his green belt.
I hen ^member.
“We take kids and give them the opportunity to become their
best,” O’Quinn said. “We get children who have never slept in
bed, who have been cold and hungry, and we have the oppor-
tunity to change their lives.”
Because the children’s ranch receives no support from the
|)vernment and is funded strictly by donations, the corn-
unity has an important role in keeping the program alive,
Quinn said.
“Everybody is what makes it work,” O’Quinn said. “We are
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The home is not only looking for those in
the community ready to help with their donations, but also their
time through volunteer work.
Texas A&M students are always welcome to volunteer at the
ranch or tutor the kids with their homework, O’Quinn said.
“They (A&M students) are such good role models,” she said.
“It’s such a great opportunity for the kids to see them and say,
‘That’s what I want to become.’”
Other special opportunities in the community give the kids a
holistic learning experience, such as the six-week cooking class
that Still Creek Ranch students recently took with Chef Mike
Chornyak, executive chef at A&M’s Faculty Club in coordina
tion with the Texas Cooperative Extension under the Better
Living for Texans Program. There, the students learned proper
nutrition and cooking techniques.
For the children, Still
Creek Ranch provides more
than a roof over their heads
and decent meals; it gives
them a life and a future, the
owner said.
Andrea Davis, 15, lives at
Still Creek Ranch and said
that every day, the kids wake
up early and begin working
with their own animals, feed
ing and tending to them. She
said going to school and run
ning errands with their house
parents and roommates are
part of their daily routine.
“I can take what I have
learned all through my life,
go through vet school and
own my own ranch,” Davis
said.
Davis said her favorite part
of living and learning at Still
Creek Ranch is having her
own horse. This past year, all
eight female residents went to
state with each of their horses
as part of the 4-H Club.
Abigail Rodriguez, 15, said
she gained a second chance
when she came to Still Creek
Ranch and is now looking
forward to a career in com
puter graphics.
“It keeps me out of trou
ble and teaches me different
traits I need to know in the
real world,” she said. “I am
less angry and respect myself
more.”
Sanders said the home
seeks to build students up
spiritually, academically
and to help raise their self
esteem.
Sanders said that the love
of people of Margaret and
Danny O’Quinn, the couple
who made it all happen, is
obvious.
“Danny and Margaret are a
uniquely gifted couple. They
are committed to the vision of
seeing kids’ hearts and lives
being mended and their pas
sion is contagious,” Sanders
said.
“When kids come through
here, they give them a chance,”
Rodriguez said.
Some may say the job is
honorable, but Margaret O’Quinn says it’s all in a hard day’s
work.
“We give all the glory to the Lord. I can’t imagine doing
anything else,” she said. “It’s been hard, but I just get back up
and keep going. I do it for the kids and it’s going to make a dif
ference in their lives.”
For donation or volunteer information at Still Creek Ranch,
call Margaret O’Quinn at 979-589-3206.
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